News Releases

The City of Saskatoon, the Canadian Armed Forces and members of numerous veterans’ organizations will commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the original dedication of the Next-of-Kin Memorial Avenue in Woodlawn Cemetery on Sunday, June 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Next-of-Kin Memorial Avenue was opened on June 17, 1923, before a crowd of 8,000 people. This beautiful avenue serves as a living memorial to those who lost their lives in the Great War of 1914-1918. It runs from 33^rd Street, through the Woodlawn Cemetery gates and on to the Soldiers Cairn.

Immediately following this 100^th anniversary commemoration will be the Saskatoon’s Annual Citizens’ Decoration Day Service, with ceremonies to follow, at the Soldiers’ Memorial Cairn. Decoration Day provides an opportunity to pay tribute to those brave individuals who lost their lives in the service of our country.

This outdoor event is open to the public and attendees will be able to view all the activities from designated standing areas.

For more information, please visit saskatoon.ca/woodlawn

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Zoo) is now one step closer to building a new home for grizzly bears Mistaya and Koda thanks to a one-million-dollar donation from local residents Jerry and Tina Grandey. The announcement was made on Friday, June 9^th at the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation’s 24^th annual ZOOGALA, marking the single largest private donation in the Zoo’s history.

“Tina and Jerry have been amazing supporters of the Zoo for many years,” says Dawn Woroniuk, Chief Executive Officer, Saskatoon Zoo Foundation. “Tina served on the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation board for many years playing a key role in building the bears current habitat at the Kinsmen Bear Exhibit. Tina was also instrumental in the creation of ZOOGALA, our one-of-a-kind annual fundraiser that has enabled the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation to contribute to several capital projects and improvements to the Zoo and will celebrate its 25^th anniversary of the event next year.”

“We are so thankful for this generous contribution” says Jeff Mitchell, Zoo Manager. “This donation provides us with an opportunity to further enhance the habitat features and amenities to not only provide the best care and quality of life for our grizzly bears, but also an opportunity for an enhanced visitor experience for those who come to learn more about these majestic animals.”

Grizzly bears Mistaya and Koda have called the Kinsmen Bear Exhibit home since arriving at the Zoo as orphaned cubs back in 2008. The pair enjoy taking dips in their swimming pool, soaking up the sun on their favourite rocks and of course, taking a long winter nap in their dens.

The new bear habitat will be significantly larger than the current habitat and will feature climbing structures, foraging opportunities, resting and sleeping locations, safe retreats, natural vegetation and soils, water features and a number of environmental enhancements that will allow the bears to continue to demonstrate their natural behaviours.

The Zoo is currently working to develop detailed design specifications along with construction estimates for the new habitat.

Donate today to help build the bears a new home, visit saskatoonzoofoundation.ca for more information.

Ceremonialists representing the main Indigenous linguistic/cultural groups on Treaty 6 Territory this morning held a pipe ceremony near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and 23rd Street.

The ceremony was to acknowledge the importance of working together in a good way as the planning and feasibility work for the Downtown Event and Entertainment District project continues. Holding the ceremony is a way to honour the Indigenous histories and cultures that are an integral part of the Saskatoon community.

“The goal of the District is to create a welcoming and vibrant gathering place for all people,” says Mayor Charlie Clark. “The foundational relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is an essential starting place to help guide this planning and achieve that goal. This is not a groundbreaking ceremony, but a ceremony to help us work together in a good way and build a city that acts on Truth and Reconciliation.”

Indigenous people hold ceremonies to honour the land and what will be done on the land. This was the first of several ceremonies to mark different elements of this project.

Representatives of the main partners for the Downtown Event and Entertainment District project attended the pipe ceremony:

• City Council
• Administrative Steering Committee
• DEED Advisory Group
• TCU Place
• SaskTel Centre
• Midtown Plaza

More information about the ceremonies can be found in the attached background document.

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Zoo) is set to open the new Small Mammal House following interior and exterior renovations to the former Children’s Zoo building. The newly renovated facility will be home to some familiar faces including a mob of meerkats, African crested porcupines and the Goeldi’s monkeys.

“We are so excited to share this new space with our guests,” says Jeff Mitchell, Zoo Manager. “The renovations allowed us to create a new habitat for our meerkats and African crested porcupines, as well as some fantastic exhibits for new species including naked mole rats and sugar gliders.”

Renovations to the exterior of the building started last September and included a complete overhaul of the building envelope. Inside, three new exhibits have been added to the second floor, along with a larger habitat for the meerkats and African crested porcupines on the main floor and better spaces for the zookeepers to continue critical conservation work with animals involved in Species Survival Plan programs like the Goeldi’s monkeys.

The total project cost is approximately $850,000 with a significant contribution from the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation ($250,000) and the remainder from the Civic Buildings Comprehensive Maintenance, a reserve set aside for the ongoing maintenance and upgrades of City facilities.

“We would like to thank the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation for its continued partnership and support in raising funds for capital improvements for the Zoo including $250,000 dedicated to the Small Mammal House,” says Mitchell.

The Zoo is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. visit saskatoon.ca/zoo to plan your next visit or learn more about the Zoo Season Pass.

Pressures of inflation, lower than expected revenues that have not recovered post-pandemic, and service requirements for a growing city, have all contributed to an unprecedented revenue gap in 2024 and 2025. “The City of Saskatoon is not immune to the ongoing financial pressures that our business community and residents are facing,” says Clae Hack, Chief Financial Officer.

“We recognize that significant adjustments will be required to reduce the revenue gap not only for 2024 and 2025, but over the next number of years to address ongoing inflation and the lingering impacts the pandemic have had on the City.” 

“While identifying the funding required to maintain ‘business as usual' service levels is an important first step to understanding the pressures facing the City, we know there are going to be challenging decisions to make over the months ahead to drive the funding gap and property tax impact down.”

Hack again stresses the Administration is not recommending any budget or property tax rate at this point; the 2024/2025 Budget Status Update information report provides the foundation for discussions over the next several months with City Council regarding options. While higher than anyone would want, Hack says the figures represent the fully transparent view of the financial pressures facing the City’s 2024/2025 budget, summarized in the table below:

Inflation

The inflationary pressures are daunting: for example, at times, the City is experiencing
30 per cent increases in contracts to maintain the roadway treatment cycle; Saskatoon Light & Power has experienced an increase of 33 per cent in material prices, and the Saskatoon Fire Department has had fire engine costs increase from $900,000 to $1.5 million for a new apparatus unit – a 60 per cent increase.

Growth

In terms of growth, the City requires resources to address the needs of a growing city.  Examples of some of the growth pressures facing 2024 and 2025 include the opening of operations at Recovery Park; extending Saskatoon Transit services for Aspen Ridge, Evergreen and North Kensington; the future East Leisure Centre expected to open in 2029; the future Fire Station expected to open in 2026; future Emergency Snow Event responses; and for phase-ins to fund the Bus Rapid Transit.

Base Budget Adjustments

Base budget assumptions are typically for expenses or revenue budgets that have become misaligned with actuals over time. The misalignment could be due to several reasons including over-estimation of revenues or incorrect prior-year assumptions.

The most significant base budget impact in 2024 relates to a key budget management strategy throughout the pandemic which was to use one-time funding to offset operating revenue decreases and to assist with additional COVID-related expenditures, to minimize property tax increases.  The strategy envisioned that revenues would return to pre-pandemic levels by
2024 and one-time funding would no longer be needed.

Unfortunately, operating revenues have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and the
$10.0 million in one-time funding that was included in the 2023 budget has been fully utilized, creating a gap in the 2024 budget. 

If the revenue gap is left unmitigated, the City would be faced with an 18.56 per cent  property tax impact for 2024, and 6.95 per cent for 2025. The City will work hard to put forward strategies and options to help minimize future property tax increases. City Council will be provided with meaningful options over several planned Special Budget Meetings that could significantly lower the 2024 property tax and return the property tax rate in 2025 to be more in line with historical trends

“The City is not alone. Inflation and post-pandemic effects continue to impact municipalities across Canada also challenged with finding solutions to combat mounting budget pressures,” Hack says. “We’re not happy where the figures are at, and we will work to provide viable options for City Council over the months ahead to lower the revenue gap and associated property tax increases for 2024/2025.”

The additional Special Budget Meetings are planned over the next months in the lead-up to City Council finalizing its 2024/2025 Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget in November this year.

The 2024/2025 Budget Status Update information report will be considered by the Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) on Wednesday, June 14 at 9:30 a.m.

Visit saskatoon.ca/budget